Honey Wine
by Dragonfly-Moonlight
Summary: The nectar of the Gods is sweet. But taking a drink comes with a price.


Before him sat six medium-sized, leaf-shaped bowls. Each bowl was a deep shade of brown and an inch deep, and all six were filled with a golden-coloured liquid. Its appearance was thick, almost like honey, but flowing, like wine. Fayt gazed at each bowl, noting how the leaf stems of the bowls were darker in green than the one before it, and a deep and sad resignation settled into his soul.

In each bowl, honey wine had been poured. The darkness of the green stems indicated the potency of the honey wine. A choice lay with each drink of the liquid, decisions Fayt could no longer avoid. He reached over and touched the first bowl.

With the first bowl, Fayt knew, was loss. Everything he had gained, everything he had fought for to possess would be gone the moment he drank the honey wine. Only memories would remain, memories that were happy and sad, bitter and sweet, full of dark times and lighter times. The lives of those he touched would remember him for always, and, for such immunity from the Gods, Fayt was grateful. A hint of a smile touched his features as Fayt picked up the first bowl.

"Thank you, Shandaria," he murmured, "for this gift you have given me. I wish to return home, by your blessing."

The honey wine tasted light on his tongue, and Fayt was reminded of green grass on sunny days as he drank the contents of the bowl. The laughter of children echoed in his mind as he felt one mortal tie severing, and a pang of sadness filled him. He would miss the carefree ways children possessed, but there was nothing for what he was required to do. In order to protect those he cherished, he needed to return back to the place where everything started.

With the bowl drained, Fayt set it down and reached for the silver and mithril ring with two tiny rubies sitting next to vessel. The circle itself was more like a metal dragon twisted into the shape of a ring, the rubies serving as the creature's eyes. He slid the band onto his right hand and closed his eyes, allowing his finger to adjust to the ring's weight. A small wave of heat washed over him, welcoming him and comforting him, and Fayt smiled. He opened his eyes and reached for the second bowl of honey wine then the third, repeating his thanks to the Gods for their gifts and requesting their blessings to return home. After each drink from the leaf-shaped bowls, Fayt slipped one more piece of his former identity back into place until all six of the vessels were empty and the symbols of his identity were on his person.

Once he finished with the ceremony's requirements, Fayt rose to his feet but kept his head lowered. The Gods and Goddesses and all but one of his fellow emissaries surrounded him, watching and waiting in silence. The last of Fayt's mortal ties had not been severed yet, but it would only be a matter of time before it happened. He was returning back to the Gods and the politics of the emissaries by choice, but this time Fayt knew he could make a difference for he had done as the Gods requested of him.

"You may lift your head, Destruction, for we would hear you speak," a strong, masculine voice murmured. Fayt knew him as Xandelar, but Aquarians and Glyphians referred to him as Apris. He complied with the God's request.

"Yes," Shandaria echoed. "I agree. We would hear you speak. Why have you chosen now to return home? Your fellow emissaries were quite displeased with your departure."

"My fellow emissaries and what pleases them are of no concern to me," Fayt replied. "I do not serve them. I serve the Gods and the people who seek out the Gods for guidance."

"Well said," Roselynia murmured. "Spoken as a true emissary should. However, that does not tell us why you wish to return. You have been gone for many long years, Destruction. Why do you wish to return?"

"Because there is something not right in your courts," Fayt answered. He gazed at each of the Gods and Goddesses and emissaries assembled around him, "and I feel the emptiness of my counterpart's absence. It is not like him to disappear as he has apparently done."

"You do not wish to return because you miss your home, your _true_ home?" one of the emissaries inquired, a male who often went by the name of Melnar. "As Roselynia has said, you have been gone for many long years, Destruction. One would wonder about your absence."

"His absence is no concern of yours, Melnar," Xandelar reprimanded, "but ours. Hold your tongue lest I silence you."

"As you wish, your excellency," the emissary replied, chastised. He still shot Fayt a scathing look.

"Please continue, Destruction," Shandaria said. "We are curious about what you can tell us of Creation's absence, other than it is not like for him to do so for we agree it is very unlike him to abandon his duties. How would you know what is like him and what is not? You have not seen him for some time, I understand."

"I may not have seen him during my absence," Fayt replied, "but I have always been able to feel his presence around me. We have always shared a very close connection, closer than most others. It matters not which form I have taken over the years, he has always been there. Now . . . now I cannot sense him or his whereabouts, and it frightens and worries me. He would never separate himself from me."

"You wish to find Creation then."

"I do," Fayt confirmed. "I wish to find him. That is why I request to come home."

Xandelar nodded, his golden eyes glowing with pride and sadness. It was in his eyes that the wayward emissary knew he had accomplished all that was desired of him. He took a few steps towards Fayt.

"Then we will welcome you home, Destruction, with great joy. Know this, however. Upon your return, you will not be able to return to the mortal world as you were. You may never be able to return to the mortal realm ever again. Your powers are now considered a threat to me and to your counterpart. Your persona, Fayt Leingod, will be dead as a result, and, in his death, a great and terrible war will be waged. Can you accept this?"

"As long as Robert and Ryoko Leingod survive so they may see my sister's birth then, yes, I can accept this. I wish for them to know as much joy as possible. They are good people," Fayt replied. Xandelar nodded.

"Then it is done. Fayt Leingod will be no more. Welcome home, Destruction. Welcome home."


End file.
